Membrane Process Design Using Residue Curve Maps

MARK PETERS graduated with both undergraduate and PhD degrees in chemical engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has previously worked at Sasol Technology, where he focused on low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch gas-to-liquids conversion. He is currently a separations consultant at the Centre of Material and Process Synthesis (COMPS), based at the University of the Witwatersrand. DAVID GLASSER is a Personal Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the Centre of Material and Process Synthesis (COMPS) at the University of the Witwatersrand. He has been awarded an A1 rating as a scientist by the National Research Foundation, the central research-funding organization in South Africa, and has authored or coauthored more than a hundred scientific papers.DIANE HILDEBRANDT is the Co-Director for the Centre of Material and Process Synthesis (COMPS) at the University of the Witwatersrand. She has authored or coauthored over seventy scientific papers. She received the Presidents' Award from the Foundation for Research and Development as well as the Distinguished Researcher Award from the University of the Witwatersrand.SHEHZAAD KAUCHALI obtained his PhD at the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is currently a full-time senior academic and the Director of the Gasification Technology and Research Group.

• Preface xiAcknowledgments xiiiNotation xvAbout The Authors xix1 INTRODUCTION 12 PERMEATION MODELING 72.1 Diffusion Membranes 82.1.1 Gas Separation 82.1.2 Pervaporation 112.2 Membrane Classification 133 INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHICAL TECHNIQUES IN MEMBRANE SEPARATIONS 153.1 A Thought Experiment 153.2 Binary Separations 163.3 Multicomponent Systems 203.3.1 Mass Balances 213.3.2 Plotting a Residue Curve Map 234 PROPERTIES OF MEMBRANE RESIDUE CURVE MAPS 294.1 Stationary Points 294.2 Membrane Vector Field 304.3 Unidistribution Lines 314.4 The Effect of a-Values on the Topology of M-RCMs 324.5 Properties of an Existing Selective M-RCM 344.5.1 Case 1: When the Permeate Side Is at Vacuum Conditions (i.e., πP ≈ 0) 344.5.2 Case 2: When the Permeate Pressure Is Nonzero (i.e., πP > 0) 364.6 Conclusion 385 APPLICATION OF MEMBRANE RESIDUE CURVE MAPS TO BATCH AND CONTINUOUS PROCESSES 415.1 Introduction 415.2 Review of Previous Chapters 445.3 Batch Membrane Operation 455.3.1 Operating Leaves in Batch Permeation 455.3.2 Material Balances 465.3.3 Permeation Model 485.3.4 Operating Regions: Nonselective Membranes 485.3.5 Operating Regions: Selective Membranes 505.4 Permeation Time 525.5 Continuous Membrane Operation 545.5.1 Nonreflux Equipment 545.5.2 Reflux Equipment 585.6 Conclusion 646 COLUMN PROFILES FOR MEMBRANE COLUMN SECTIONS 656.1 Introduction to Membrane Column Development 666.1.1 Relevant Works in Membrane Column Research 676.2 Generalized Column Sections 686.2.1 The Difference Point Equation 706.2.2 Infinite Reflux 716.2.3 Finite Reflux 746.2.4 CPM Pinch Loci 766.3 Theory 806.3.1 Membrane Column Sections 806.3.2 The Difference Point Equation for an MCS 816.3.3 Permeation Modeling 826.3.4 Properties of the DPE 846.4 Column Section Profiles: Operating Condition 1 856.4.1 Statement 856.4.2 Mathematics 856.4.3 Membrane Residue Curve Map 856.5 Column Section Profiles: Operating Condition 2 876.5.1 Statement 876.5.2 Mathematics 876.5.3 Column Profile 886.5.4 Analysis 896.5.5 Pinch Point Loci 936.5.6 Further Column Profiles 946.5.7 Direction of δT 966.5.8 Direction of Integration 966.5.9 Crossing the MBT Boundary 976.6 Column Section Profiles: Operating Conditions 3 and 4 976.6.1 Statement 976.6.2 Mathematics 976.6.3 Column Profile 986.6.4 Pinch Point Loci 996.6.5 Analysis of Column Profile 1006.6.6 Pinch Point 1026.6.7 Further Column Profiles 1026.6.8 Variations in XΔ and rΔ 1046.7 Applications and Conclusion 1057 NOVEL GRAPHICAL DESIGN METHODS FOR COMPLEX MEMBRANE CONFIGURATIONS 1077.1 Introduction 1087.2 Column Sections 1107.2.1 Definition 1107.2.2 The Difference Point Equation 1117.2.3 Vapor–Liquid Equilibrium and Permeation Flux 1137.2.4 Column Profiles 1137.3 Complex Membrane Configuration Designs: General 1147.3.1 Overview 1147.3.2 Petlyuk Membrane Arrangement 1147.3.3 Material Balances 1167.4 Complex Membrane Configuration Designs: Operating Condition 1 1177.4.1 Statement 1177.4.2 Mathematics 1177.4.3 Column Profiles 1197.4.4 Requirements for Feasibility 1207.4.5 Analysis and Behavior of Column Profiles 1217.4.6 Feasible Coupled Columns 1247.5 Complex Membrane Configuration Designs: Operating Condition 2 1327.5.1 Statement 1327.5.2 Mathematics 1327.5.3 Column Profiles 1337.5.4 Feasibility 1347.6 Complex Membrane Configurations: Comparison with Complex Distillation Systems 1387.7 Hybrid Distillation–Membrane Design 1387.7.1 Overview 1387.7.2 Material Balances 1407.7.3 Feasibility 1417.8 Conclusion 1508 SYNTHESIS AND DESIGN OF HYBRID DISTILLATION – MEMBRANE PROCESSES 1518.1 Introduction 1528.2 Methanol/Butene/MTBE System 1538.2.1 Design Requirements 1558.3 Synthesis of a Hybrid Configuration 1568.4 Design of a hybrid configuration 1598.4.1 Column Sections of Hybrid Configuration 1598.4.2 Degrees of Freedom 1618.4.3 Generating Profiles for Hybrid Columns 1638.4.4 Comparing Feasible Design Options 1648.4.5 Attainable Region 1648.5 Conclusion 1679 CONCLUDING REMARKS 1699.1 Conclusions 1709.2 Recommendations and Future Work 1719.3 Design Considerations 1729.3.1 Processes for Which Membrane Separations Are Particularly Suitable 1729.3.2 Processes for Which Membrane Operations Are Unsuitable 1739.3.3 Pressure Difference as a Design Consideration 1749.3.4 Effect of Reflux in Membrane Columns 1759.4 Challenges for Membrane Process Engineering 176REFERENCES 177APPENDIX A: MemWorX USER MANUAL 183A.1 System Requirements 183A.2 Installation 184A.3 Layout of MemWorX 184A.4 Appearance of Plots 186A.5 Step-by-Step Guide to Plot Using MemWorX 186A.6 Tutorial Solutions 192APPENDIX B: FLUX MODEL FOR PERVAP 1137 MEMBRANE 201APPENDIX C: PROOF OF EQUATION FOR DETERMINING PERMEATION TIME IN A BATCH PROCESS 203APPENDIX D: PROOF OF EQUATION FOR DETERMINING PERMEATION AREA IN A CONTINUOUS PROCESS 207APPENDIX E: PROOF OF THE DIFFERENCE POINT EQUATION 209E.1 Proof Using Analogous Method to Distillation 209E.2 Proof Using Mass Transfer 213Index 217